Friends of Ngong Road

We empower Nairobi children living in poverty to transform their lives through education and support, leading to employment.

Archives for March 2023

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Vatican Trip – Visit with Pope

Tunda Lepore at International Fund for Agricultural Development

Tunda Lepore is the Senior Case Manager in the Primary department. She is an Indigenous woman from the Maasai community. Her early childhood experience where she had to overcome both community and peer pressure to go through female genital cut and early marriage inspired her to become a children’s rights champion. 

Tunda attended the 6th Global forum of indigenous people at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome. The Forum is the place for indigenous representatives to give recommendations to IFAD and the Member States of the United Nations regarding IFAD’s programs in the countries. She was honored to present the synthesis of deliberation from the Forum to the Governing Council. She also had an opportunity to visit Vatican City on 10th Feb and talk with Pope Francis. Tunda says that this was a great opportunity to continue learning, networking, and growing in her leadership journey for the work she does at Ngong Road Children Foundation.

NRCF case manager Tunda Lepore meets Pope Francis at Vatican City

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Alumni Camp

The Alumni Camp was held from January 20th to the 22nd at the Duara Flamingo Camp, located in Elementaita, Nakuru (Lake Elementaita Lodge). The camp celebrated the accomplishments of the 2022 post-secondary graduates, welcomed them to the alumni association, and provided their first job preparedness training.

We had a total of 36 campers that included 31 alumni, 3 staff members, and 2 facilitators from the organization. We had a number of activities and training that were meant to develop employability skills and emotional intelligence. There was a training session conducted by Be The Leader (BTL) on job interview skills, digital marketing, entrepreneurship skills, and career development. The objective of the training was to teach them how to be outstanding during an interview, how to make themselves visible to potential employers via social media, and the basics of starting a business. There were also a number of team competition activities like crazy games and olympics. The alumni also had a chance to visit the Kariandusi prehistoric site and African Diatomite Industries Ltd to learn about the mining of diatomite (from skeletons of very tiny animals called diatoms) and its uses.

The camp was a success and we hope that the alumni were impacted positively by all the training and activities.

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Scholarship Fund

Since the inception of Friends of Ngong Road, we have grown the number of students in our program through one-to-one sponsorships. We have had enormous success with this strategy. As we strive to double the number of students in our program we want to provide more opportunities to enroll students and expand giving options for donors.

We are pleased to announce the establishment of our Scholarship Fund. This fund specifically caters to monthly donors who are not sponsors but still wish to directly contribute to students’ educational expenses. This funding pool provides the opportunity to enroll more students in the program, even without a sponsor. Donating to this fund allows supporters to have a direct impact on a student’s education. This is because sponsorship commitment might not be the right path for them. 

One of our current donors says:

“Our family suffered a hit to our financial profile that made sponsorship out of our reach, but we recognized the success of this program and of these students depends on more than just sponsoring one child. We make a monthly financial commitment in an amount we could afford. We know our donation goes to support the students and programs that sponsoring one child does not cover. In that way our “sponsorship” isn’t of one child, it is of all the Ngong Road children.”

We have already enrolled two students in our program who had been waiting for over 250 days for a sponsor. Because of donations to the Scholarship Fund, these two students no longer have to wait to start transforming their lives.

Sherine is a bright girl with high hopes and dreams. She dreams of being a doctor when she grows up. She knows that in order to achieve her dream, she has to work hard in school, and she is among the top in her class. Her favorite subjects are math and science. When she’s not in school, she loves to read. 

Elvis is described as being very ambitious. He loves everything tech and computer related and wants to be an IT expert. He enjoys going to school and playing with his friends. His favorite subject in school is science. He promises to continue working hard so that he can transform his life.

Sherine
Elvis

If you would love to help children living in poverty transform their lives through education, but maybe don’t have the time or financial capacity to become a sponsor, making a donation to the Scholarship Fund is right for you! As we increase donations to the Scholarship Fund, we will be able to enroll more students in the program.  

Donors to the fund will become part of our “Scholarship Society” and receive updates including a “Student of the Month” feature so they can feel the impact of who directly benefits from their monthly gift. 

Click here to contribute to the Scholarship Fund today!

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Help us Fill-a-Trunk!

2023 marks the return to normalcy in the Kenyan school calendar and we are excited to help our students fill their school trunks! Our high school students and some primary students are in boarding school, as is common in Kenya.

Once students arrive at boarding school, the school assigns them a bunk in a large dormitory and allows them a single trunk for all of their belongings.

By helping them fill their trucks, you will ensure that they have all the supplies and  personal care items they need to be successful in school. Students will go into school feeling confident and equal to their classmates when they know they won’t have to go without basic items such as soap, bedding and school supplies. 

Show our students support and help us reach our goal of raising $30,000 by donating here!

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Graduation Stories

Emmanuel

Emmanuel joined the program in 2009 and immediately joined one of our focus schools, Jagiet Academy. He performed really well in his Kenya Certificate of Primary Examination (KCPE) and joined Dagoretti High School. He loved mathematics, business, and computer studies, and he developed an interest in actuarial science.

Emmanuel later joined Kenyatta University in September 2019 and was admitted to the Bachelor of Actuarial Science program. After a year, he paused his actuarial science studies and pursued an interest in data science. Both of these courses primarily involve analyzing data and making statistical predictions but Emmanuel wanted a course that would have more opportunities for him and data science offers that.   

He enrolled at Moringa School in August 2021 to pursue data science and the course took 6 months to complete. Upon completion of his course, he joined the TechMates program in August of 2022  as a developer intern. The internship took three months and he later transitioned into a TechMates contractor. While interning under the TechMates program, he secured a freelance contract with Lido Nation and is participating in a developer mentorship program. 

Additionally, Emmanuel is also an entrepreneur. He started his own furniture workshop in March 2020 and it has been doing really well. He makes all types of furniture and has created a good reputation for making quality furniture. This business venture has made it possible for him to support himself and his siblings. He aspires to take a course in business information technology and broaden his skills. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

Lavender

Lavender joined the program on April 7, 2008, and was enrolled in Nelson Mandela School. She was attending a local primary school prior to joining the program and was constantly falling behind in her classwork due to being sent home on occasion for failure to pay school fees. Her grades improved significantly after joining the program and enrolling at Nelson Mandela, She scored 342 out of 500 on her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) when she finished Grade 8.

For high school, she attended Mirithu Girls Secondary School in Kiambu County. After high school, she went to Meru Polytechnic to pursue a diploma in Tourism and Management, a three-year course. She finished her coursework in April 2022 and officially graduated in December of the same year. Lavender is currently working as a salesperson for Unilever Kenya in Nairobi, where she is paid on a commission basis. She enjoys her current job and hopes to advance in her career.

Lavender has always been a hardworking and outgoing girl. Her profession complements her personality. She is easy to get along with and has matured into a charming and content young lady. Lavender is always cheerful and upbeat, and she is self-sufficient and capable of making her own decisions.

She is extremely grateful to her sponsor, Ann, who has supported her throughout her academic journey. Lavender is grateful to Friends of Ngong Road and to Ngong Road Children’s Foundation for providing her with the opportunity for sponsorship because it allowed her to transform her life.

Afline

Afline joined the program in 2009 when she was in grade 2. She lives with both parents and her brother, who is also in the program and in his senior year of high school. Afline attended Le Pic School, a local primary school in the Kabiria area, where they lived, prior to joining the program.

She was enrolled at Jagiet Academy after successfully joining the program. She attended this school until 2015 when she took her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). She later enrolled at Mirithu Secondary School, a boarding school for girls in Limuru, Kiambu County. She was a member of the school’s netball team and the music festival group in high school. She was given the opportunity to attend the Kenya Institute of Professional Studies (KIPS) technical college after finishing secondary school.

She enrolled in a supply chain management certificate program at the Nairobi town campus. This course is designed to teach students how to manage the supply chain’s activities effectively and efficiently, as well as the role it plays in an organization’s strategic development. Afline finished the program in November 2022.

She is currently furthering her education and working toward a diploma in the same field. She hopes to finish the course and work for the government. She is grateful to NRCF and her sponsor for allowing her to complete her education to this level.